


Christmas Education

by insieme



Series: Canon Malec Drabbles [9]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec has never experienced Christmas, Baking, Canon Compliant, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Domestic Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, First Christmas, Fluff, Ice Skating, M/M, Magnus wants to make it perfect, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 04:55:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13206426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insieme/pseuds/insieme
Summary: Alec has never celebrated Christmas before. Magnus wants to make sure his first is perfect.





	Christmas Education

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ninwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninwrites/gifts).



> This was written for the beautiful and talented [Nin](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Malteser24/pseuds/Malteser24) xx 
> 
>  
> 
> Tag #insiemes if you want me to see your reactions x

“Alexander, you’re telling me that you’ve never actually celebrated Christmas before?” He tried to keep his tone from being judgeful, but it was just so hard for him to comprehend. How could his boyfriend have been alive for more than two decades, living in one of the most festive cities in the world, and never celebrated one of the most joyous holidays of the year?

Alec answered that question fairly quickly though. 

“Shadowhunters don’t really do holidays, Magnus.” He laughed from the couch. “We found this out not even two weeks ago when you found out I hadn’t celebrated Thanksgiving and a month before that at Halloween.” He shrugged. “Demons don’t exactly stop doing demon things just because it’s a holiday.” 

Magnus rolled his eyes fondly, navigating through the loft with two cups of steaming hot chocolate. He sat down on the couch beside Alec, gratefully snuggling under the blanket Alec held up. “Yes, but this is arguably the most celebrated holiday of the year. I thought surely even the Clave couldn’t put a ban on Christmas.” Alec just shrugged, accepting his mug from Magnus with a shake of his head. “Bah humbug.” 

The joke, unsurprisingly, was lost on Alec. Oh, Magnus had a lot of work to do. 

It was three days before Christmas and they had just started their time off from work, an event that had sparked this whole conversation. Alec hadn’t been planning on taking any time off at all, but once he saw Magnus’ reaction he agreed to a week. It had been a little difficult for him to swing at the Institute, but Isabelle and Jace and stepped up to make up the time he was missing. Isabelle had told him that he deserved to spend his first Christmas with his boyfriend, something Magnus was incredibly grateful for. 

Even if his boyfriend had been sheltered his whole life and didn’t know what Christmas was. 

And so with the fire burning and hot chocolate in their mugs, Magnus spent the next few hours educating him on everything Christmas related that he would need to know. He told him the religious history and the children’s stories, the traditions, the spirit and even educated him on the music. Alec listened patiently, nodding along as Magnus spoke and interjecting every once in awhile to ask questions. 

“So a man in a red suit goes around to people’s homes in the middle of the night to drop off presents?” He asked, incredulous. “And he rides in a … sleigh pulled by flying deer?” 

“Reindeer, yes.”

Alec nodded. He looked like he was trying to take it all in, but couldn’t really comprehend what he was hearing. His face was scrunched up adorably, eyebrows drawn together and lip pulled between his teeth. “And all of this happens during one night? How can he possibly make it around the world in that amount of time?” 

Magnus grinned. “Well, that’s the magic of it, Alexander. The magic of Christmas.” 

Alec nodded, thoughtful. Suddenly he perked up, looking down at Magnus with a grin. “He’s a warlock, isn’t he? Think about it, he’s been around for ages, he probably portals around the world to get to each and every house and he can fit down chimneys, no matter his size.” He grinned proudly. “Santa is a warlock!”

Magnus chuckled, not bothering to correct him. Though Magnus himself had never seen Old Saint Nick, perhaps Alec was right and he was a warlock rather than just a children’s tale. That would make the story much happier, and much more believable. 

He was about to tell Alec more about Christmas when he remembered something. Something very important and something their home was severely lacking. He hopped up from the couch and pulled Alec with him. “We need to decorate!” 

Alec raised his eyebrows, letting himself be tugged along. “Decorate what?”

“The tree, dearest.” 

Alec looked around the loft, small smile on his lips. He squeezed Magnus’ hands. “Tree? I don’t see any trees. Babe, I think your old age is starting to show.” Magnus shot him a glare to which Alec responded with a blown kiss.

With a dramatic flourish, Magnus waved his hand and a beautiful pine tree appeared in the corner as well as boxes of decorations, lights and tinsel. Alec’s eyes opened wide, taking in the explosion of Christmas that now littered their living room. “ _That_ tree.” 

And so together, they began to decorate. Magnus quickly realized that Alec’s favourite part seemed to be the lights and so Magnus tasked him with the job of untangling them all (because even when you had magic to pack them all up, they still proceeded to become tangled the next year). Twenty minutes later, Magnus was faced with the adorable picture of his warrior boyfriend completely wrapped in lights, trying in vain to untangle them from themselves and from his body. 

Magnus took his phone out and snapped a picture, grinning to himself. 

The Chairman offered his assistance as well, taking bulbs from the box and batting them around with his small paws, something that greatly amused the both of them. But when he got tangled up in a string of tinsel, he had clearly had enough of decorating for one evening and sulked off to the bedroom. 

An hour later, they had the tree completely decorated as well as the rest of the loft. Alec had enjoyed the process immensely, if the amount of times he turned to Magnus with a wide smile had anything to do with it. He giggled and grinned at everything, practically vibrating with childhood excitement. It was nice to see him get so excited about something, as he often didn’t (unless it was related to Magnus of course, then he got very excited). 

Alec’s favourite decoration however, was the mistletoe. He had pulled it from the bottom of the box, asking Magnus why they would possibly put another piece of greenery on the tree. Magnus had been delighted to tell him what it was and more importantly, what it meant when you stood underneath it. After that, Alec spared no excuses to pull Magnus underneath the doorway where they had decided to hang it, kissing him sweetly. 

And Magnus had always been a fan of the tree, but the mistletoe was starting to become his favourite decoration as well. 

He asked more for more Christmas stories while they decorated so Magnus told him about some of his personal favourite holiday memories. There were many with Ragnor, Cat and Raphael including the time the three of them had cooked a full Christmas dinner for just the three of them. Magnus didn’t recall many Christmas memories from his childhood but he head no shortage of stories to share. Many of them had Alec laughing and holding his stomach, tears leaking from his eyes. 

Magnus looked forward to the day when they would tell their children and their grandchildren memories they had made of Christmas’ past, when Alec had memories of his own.

The next day, Alec’s education on Christmas baking began. Alec had already begun experimenting in the kitchen with regular food and had become quite good at it over the past few months. And so baking was just a simple step up from that. 

Or so they thought.

But it turned out that baking was much more difficult than cooking, even when you followed a recipe. Magnus had always prided himself with conjuring up a mean batch of Christmas cookies but never in his four hundred years of life had he ever baked them. Needless to say, it was quite the experience. 

“Magnus, it says we need two teaspoons of salt.” 

Magnus shook his head. “In cookies? Alexander, don’t be ridiculous, they clearly meant sugar.”

“It clearly says salt.” And it turned out that it was actually calling for salt and adding too much sugar to gingerbread cookies made them incredibly sweet and difficult to eat. Lessons learned.

But they had fun. Alec, try as he might, could not get the hang of baking. Magnus had given up very early on in the day but continued to try to make Alec happy. But by about noon they had abandoned cookies and baking altogether and sat on the kitchen floor, eating the decorations they were going to put on top. 

Alec looked incredibly adorable; the black of his hair and his pink cheeks dusted with flour, and some sort of batter smeared on his sleeve. He was sitting cross-legged across from Magnus on the floor, holding a tub of icing and dipping his finger in before bringing the offensive digit up to his lips to lick it off. 

So it was really no ones fault but his own that Magnus put down his own tub and tackled his boyfriend right there on the floor of the kitchen, kissing him deeply. 

Some time later, after a little fun with the icing and a shower, they were back where they were the previous night; curled under a blanket by the fire with hot chocolate, tree lights the only light in the room. And Alec, having accepted defeat, asked Magnus to conjure up a plate of cookies (which he did, with a kiss planted to Alec’s temple). 

On the day of Christmas Eve, Magnus woke them both up early with the promise of a busy day. Alec grumbled something about it being too early for the amount of cheer Magnus had, but he wasn’t hearing any of it, informing Alec that he needed to be ready to go in half and hour. 

And so half an hour, after a cup of coffee and more morning kisses to coax him awake, Alec was waiting in the front hall bundled up in his warmest clothes, at Magnus’ request. Winter had been abnormally warm in New York that year, which mean they had an abysmal amount of snow. But Magnus wasn’t about to let that stop him from showing Alec the best Christmas ever. 

They stepped out of the portal and onto the busy streets of Ottawa, Canada. Unlike New York, Ottawa had quite a bit of snow, perfect for what he had planned for the day. 

When they arrived, the Rideau Canal was packed with families out enjoying the day. The canal extended through the entire city and was completely frozen over, creating the perfect place to skate. Little ones clung to their parents as they tried to balance on their skates and couples held hands as they glided along the ice. 

Alec, having never been skating before, was really excited to try it. He leaned on the railing surrounding the canal, grin on his face. 

“Now, don’t be upset if you can’t get it right away, angel. Many of these people have been taking lessons since they could walk.” Magnus supplied gently, leaning down to show Alec how to lace his skates. His own were already on but Alec was having a difficult time getting them on. Taking pity on him, Magnus swatted his hands away and laced them, winking at Alec. 

Alec rolled his eyes. “It can’t be that hard, Magnus. Besides, I have a stability rune if I really need it.” He shrugged. “Though I don’t think I will, it doesn’t look too difficult.” 

But Alec learned pretty quickly that skating wasn’t as easy as it looked. He currently had a tight grip on both of Magnus’ hands as he tried to stay balanced, the latter skating backwards as he pulled him. He had already fallen twice, ice dusting his pants and bottom, something that Magnus had had to work to keep a straight face during. “You’re doing great, sweetheart.” 

Alec’s eyebrows were drawn in concentration and his eyes were locked on his feet as he concentrated on keeping his balance, but he looked up to smile at Magnus when he spoke. Which turned out to be a big mistake as the minute he looked up, he tripped and fell to the ice, pulling Magnus down with him. Luckily for Magnus, Alec had turned himself in the fall to shield most of the blow, leaving Magnus to land on top of him. 

Though realistically Magnus knew it was incredibly cold to be laying on a giant sheet of ice, snow falling on them and a chill in the air, his body was filled with warmth. Alec gazed up at him, cheeks flushed and nose red, snowflakes sitting gently on his dark eyelashes. He smiled Magnus’ favourite lopsided smile. “So, skating is a little harder than I expected. Though, I can’t say that I hate it.” 

Magnus chuckled, dropping a sweet kiss to Alec’s nose. “Maybe it’s time to activate that stability rune?”

Alec shook his head, grinning. “Nope. I quite like getting to hold you close for balance. Makes it more fun.” And so reluctantly they got up off the ice and tried again. Eventually, Alec did get the hang of it, even letting go of Magnus’ hands at one point to try on his own. Magnus had learnt to skate a long time ago, though it had been awhile since he put it into practice. But after a few more falls, Alec gave in and activated his rune increasing his ability tenfold. They had fun chasing each other around the ice, both of them laughing like children as they tried to catch the other. 

A few hours and many bruises later, they hung up their skates and decided to go for a walk. Each year for the holidays, practically the entire city of Ottawa was decorated in Christmas lights. The massive Parliament buildings were lit up completely, and shone in beautiful, elaborate colours. The streets were lined with decorated trees and light poles, giving everything the perfect holiday feel.

A while into their walk, they stumbled upon a park, in the middle of which was a tunnel of lights. They walked through it hand in hand. Christmas lights were another thing that Alec had expressed an interest in since their Christmas education began and so he was shocked completely into silence, neck craned back to try and take it all in. The lights looked beautiful reflected on his skin, highlighting his already prominent cheekbones and making his eyes shine brightly. 

And in that moment, Magnus swore he had never seen anything more beautiful. Not only did Alec look like an angel come to Earth, he looked so incredibly happy that Magnus couldn’t help but stare. He smiled freely and so, so wide, his entire face beaming with it. And when he pulled Magnus close by his scarf and kissed him, lips chapped from the cold, Magnus could feel the happiness in his heartbeat and running through his veins. It was contagious and filled him with warmth, despite the cold. Like sinking into a warm bath after a cold day.

“Merry Christmas, Magnus.” Alec whispered when he pulled back, though not far enough that they were really separated. His forehead was rested against Magnus’, the wool of their hats touching as they breathed each other in. 

“Happy first Christmas, Alexander.” Alec’s gloved hand stroked along Magnus’ cheek and he pressed another kiss there, soft as snow. “Are you ready to go home, angel? Santa doesn’t come if you’re not there, after all.”

Alec chuckled and nodded. And so after glamouring them, Magnus created a portal back to their loft. He had soft music playing and a steaming bath prepared the minute they stepped through the door, and Alec just shook his head fondly, grinning into Magnus’ shoulder. They slipped out of their warm clothes and into the warmer water. Alec sat in between Magnus’ legs with his back pressed to Magnus’ front, head tipped back on his shoulder. The warm water felt nice on Magnus’ muscles, sore from a few too many skating falls and by the content groan Alec let out, he was feeling the same.

Magnus was feeling content and sleepy, Alec laying against his chest and rambling on about their day, about how much fun he had had. And Magnus just pressed kisses into his skin, trailing his fingers up and down his arm slowly as he let Alec talk. He made sure to tell Alec how glad he was that he enjoyed it, but mostly let him talk, his boyfriends voice soothing and calm. 

When their skin was pruned and Magnus no longer had the energy to keep the water warm, they got out of the bath. Magnus summoned them two of the fluffiest towels he could find, gently wrapping it around Alec’s shoulders. Entering their bedroom, they found two presents waiting for them on the bed, one addressed to each of them. Alec picked up the one addressed to him, smiling when he read the tag. “Isabelle.” he explained fondly, turning to show it to Magnus. 

They opened them at the same time and Magnus had to laugh when he saw what was inside. Clearly Isabelle wasn’t as sheltered when it came to Christmas traditions as he brother, or she had taken the time to do some research because she had purchased the two of them matching pajamas. 

Alec let out a loud laugh, holding the two piece, red reindeer printed cotton pajamas up to his body. He looked incredibly adorable, and even more so when he put them on. Magnus had seen his boyfriend take many forms; lover, leader, warrior, brother, son. But seeing the once ever so stoic Alec Lightwood in a two piece set of pj’s was quite possibly his favourite look yet. Magnus never imagined a day where he would be getting ready for bed with his lover on Christmas Eve, both of them in matching, printed flannel pajamas but he couldn’t imagine spending it any other way.

They took a quick selfie and sent it to Isabelle in thanks (and Magnus made a note to ask her how she had gotten into the loft in the first place) before settling into bed. Magnus tucked himself under Alec’s arm, pulling the other man as close as possible to stave off the cold. 

“I love you.” Alec whispered into the dark a few minutes later, pressing a kiss to Magnus’ damp hair. “Thank you for doing all of this for me.” 

Magnus smiled, nodding. “I love you, too. And -” He grinned, “it’s really my pleasure. I think I may be enjoying all of this almost as much as you, if not more.” He could feel Alec’s chuckle through the vibrations in his chest and nuzzled deeper into the embrace. “But in all seriousness, I’m glad you’re enjoying all of this. I just wanted to make your first Christmas special and one you would remember.” 

Alec hummed, fingers running through the hair on the back of Magnus’ head. “You don’t have to worry about that. I won’t easily be forgetting anything about this Christmas.” 

Magnus pressed a kiss to the exposed skin at the base of his throat. “Now go to bed. I want a visit from Santa tonight and he won’t come if you’re keeping me awake with sappy declarations.” But he made sure to kiss Alec softly to let him know just how much he appreciated the sappy declarations. 

Morning came early and Magnus woke before Alec. With a flick of his wrist he moved all the presents he had hidden in the closet to the tree and turned on the coffee maker, knowing how much Alec enjoyed the simple task of making coffee for them each morning. When he was sure that everything was ready for them for when they got out of bed, he rolled on top of Alec who was sleeping on his stomach. Magnus straddled his hips and leaned down, pressing kisses to his cheeks and face wherever he could reach. 

It took a few minutes but Alec stirred awake, bright smile on his face despite the early hour. “Good morning, Magnus.” 

Magnus pressed his lips to Alec’s exposed cheek. “Merry Christmas Alexander.” He spoke against the skin. Alec preened, rolling over and pulling Magnus into him for a proper kiss. Magnus sighed happily into the embrace, molding himself against Alec.The Shadowhunter ran his hands up Magnus’ sides, settling on his hips, pulling him that much closer. And Magnus would be content to just forget all about the presents outside and spend the morning in here with Alec, celebrating the holiday in a way in which they were both familiar with. 

But this was Alec’s first Christmas and they were going to do it right. Sex could wait. 

So he pulled back from Alec, his boyfriend chasing his lips. Magnus grinned. “As much as I am deeply enjoying myself right now, we have some more Christmas obligations this morning.” Alec perked up, child-like grin overtaking his features. 

Magnus dragged him out of bed and into the living room to the tree, which was now overflowing with presents. Catarina and Raphael had dropped theirs off at some time in the night and Magnus had brought over Alec’s presents from the Institute that morning, but seeing the look on Alec’s face was so worth it. He gazed at the full tree excitedly looking between it and Magnus with the biggest and brightest smile on his face. 

They sat on the floor by the tree, coffee in hand, taking turns opening presents. Magnus had gotten Alec some new dress shirts, a watch (which he engraved with Alec’s name on the back), a new pair of hunting boots and a coupon for a week long vacation to destination of Alec’s choosing. In turn, Alec had gotten him some new makeup (which Magnus would be sure to thank Isballe for as well), a new ear cuff, some incredibly rare potion ingredients he had been after for a while and a necklace Alec had made from one of his arrowheads. He was incredibly shy giving the last gift to Magnus, explaining that he probably wouldn’t like it and it was a stupid idea, when in reality it was his favourite of all the gifts. Alec had engraved the arrowhead with both of their initials, explaining sweetly that it was a way for Magnus to always have a piece of him for when he was away on missions and the like. 

When all the presents had been opened and they had eaten breakfast (conjured up cinnamon buns from the bakery down the road) they nested into their favourite spot on the couch. Magnus summoned the duvet from the bed and wrapped it around them, snuggling into Alec’s side. 

They talk about everything and nothing, whiling away the day in each others warmth. They have a dinner planned for tonight with the entire group, a dysfunctional family get together if you will. Alec had never had a family Christmas dinner and Magnus wasn’t going to deprive him of the entertainment of bringing all his family and friends together under one roof for a meal. 

But they still had a while before they needed to get ready and so they could spend the morning curled up together on the couch. Alec had Magnus’ hand in his own, playing with his fingers as he spoke. Magnus didn’t know if it was unconscious or not, but Alec’s touch kept going to Magnus’ ring finger, gently grazing the empty skin there, almost longingly. 

And it was so easy to picture them a few years down the line, so many things the same but also so many thing having changed. For one, the spot on Magnus’ finger wouldn’t be empty, gold band matching one on Alec’s ring finger. The room was quiet now, only filled with soft music and their voices but Magnus hoped one day it would be much louder, little ones running around and playing with all the new toys they had opened hours previous. A little boy with Alec’s eyes, maybe a little girl warlock or Shadowhunter, running and playing together as their fathers watched on. 

And it was a nice image, one he and Alec both shared, but it wasn’t something they needed to explore yet. One day for sure, but for now Magnus was content to enjoy this time with Alec. Their family could wait. 

Alec laced his fingers though Magnus’, bringing their joined hands up to his lips. “Thank you for the best Christmas ever.” 

Magnus hummed, sighing happily. “Here's to many more to come, Alexander.”

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think?
> 
> Let me know on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/insiemes) xo


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